John Kaehny has written and successfully lobbied for the passage of state and New York City laws related to government transparency and accountability, including the first open data law in the world in 2012.
Through Community Facilities Districts (CFD), Municipal Utility Districts (MUD), Public Improvement Districts (PID), Community Development Districts (CDD) and reimbursement districts (RD), builders can potentially shift infrastructure costs off their balance sheets and onto special districts that homebuyers ultimately absorb through property taxes without potentially adding debt to the builder's books.
Mamdani stated that the City Council's budget strategy effectively ensures this structural deficit will continue indefinitely, impacting vital city services and failing to solve deep financial problems.
Campaigner Aysha Hawcutt stated that residents were 'not anti-homes', but believed the Adlington plan was 'the wrong proposal in the wrong place'. She expressed pride in the community's resilience against the development threats.
Despite some idealistic intentions, that framework is in fact what put Muni in the financial hole in the first place. Working from a scarcity mindset, namely trying to preserve an already pilfered service, is a losing battle. To guarantee the service that citizens and workers expect from a city like San Francisco requires a committed vision of the future, one that centers Muni as the public good that it is.
Portland's transition to a new form of government last January brought new practices and procedures for the City Council. Among the largest changes, impacting both the Council and members of the public, was the introduction of eight policy committees. The committees, which considered topics including transportation, climate, finance, homelessness, and public safety, were intended to provide a focused venue for councilors to introduce legislation and hold conversations on specific topics, as well as to hear public testimony.
Understanding the difference in purpose Unlike private businesses, which exist to make a profit, public institutions are designed to create impact - especially social and economic outcomes that benefit everyone, not just paying customers. A public agency doesn't measure its success in revenue or margins, but in how much it improves lives, builds equity and maintains public trust. This doesn't mean budgets and spending don't matter - they absolutely do - but money is not the goal. It's the tool.
The total proposed 2026 operating budget amounts to $18.9 billion, with 31 per cent being covered by property taxes and 24 per cent made up of federal and provincial funding. The rest is made up of smaller measures, including rate programs (12 per cent), transit fares (six per cent), and reserves (nine per cent). Chow submitted her budget proposal on Feb. 1, based on a city staff proposal put forward on Jan. 8.
City law requires the council to approve all contracts above $250,000. But Oakland's city administrator, Jestin Johnson, has the power to issue contracts up to that amount without informing the council and the public. The mandatory annual report is meant to provide transparency into these purchases. The report also requires Johnson and his team to explain if any contracts were issued without a competitive bidding process, and how many awards went to local businesses.
Under Executive Order 12, according to a press statement from the city, each agency will now have five days to appoint an existing senior employee as Chief Savings Officer and grant them the relevant staff and information. This employee will have 45 days to complete a comprehensive assessment of their agency's spending, analyzing the most expensive programs to understand major drivers of cost, as well as the highest-performing programs, to try to replicate successes.
Local election administrators have warned that councils face "an uphill struggle" to be ready in time for the May local elections after the government reversed its plan to delay some votes. Local Government Secretary Steve Reed had initially approved delays in 30 council elections in England until 2027. But the government abandoned plans to postpone ballots after advice was given that the move could be unlawful.
"If we don't get what we need [in terms of extra government help] then a Section 114 Notice will come in, which is effective bankruptcy. We'd then get administrators come in, in effect - they'd then make a plan for where the money gets spent in Worcestershire. It would be a catastrophe. We're going to have to halt projects that were put into the budget by the previous administration, things that maybe were 'nice to have', but we can't afford them."
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